The present invention relates to ankle braces, and, in particular, to an ankle brace that provides greater comfort and support than braces of the prior art.
Many types of ankle braces are known, including my earlier design, described in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 33,395. That brace provided greater flexibility and comfort than other braces, because it provided pivots on both sides of the brace, which enabled the foot to flex forward and backward while limiting side-to-side motion of the foot relative to the leg in order to protect the injured ankle. That brace had left and right pivot legs, which were intended to lie along the left and right sides of the wearer's leg, and there were straps which wrapped around the leg to hold the pivot legs together. While the straps provide flexibility of movement, they also stretch and shift, thereby sacrificing some structural support.
Also, in prior art designs, the semi-rigid stirrup encircled the bottom of the foot, interfering with a person's foot spreading out as he put his weight on the foot, thereby causing irritation and pain. If the stirrup were made wide enough to avoid that problem, it would provide less support to the person's ankle and might be too wide to fit into the person's shoe.